


All That Lies Ahead

by thecivilunrest



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Meet the Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-21
Updated: 2014-12-21
Packaged: 2018-03-02 16:48:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2819258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecivilunrest/pseuds/thecivilunrest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin and Haru announce their engagement.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All That Lies Ahead

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fencer_x](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fencer_x/gifts).



> Merry Christmas, fencer-x!! Hope it's a good one.

Makoto was the first person to know about their engagement--not only because of mutual friendship, but also because Haru couldn’t imagine anyone else knowing before him. Especially because Makoto was _right there_ in Tokyo too. 

“Congratulations,” he told them, giving them both a warm smile. He hugged Rin first, whispering something in his ear that Haru couldn’t hear, before turning to Haru and doing the same. 

“I’ve never seen people in love the way you are,” Makoto told Haru as he wrapped his arms around him. “So be good to each other, okay?” 

And Haru nodded, because he knows he’d never be able to break a promise to Makoto or a vow to Rin.

The rest of the circuit started with Rin’s family. Rin had asked if he wanted to tell his parents first, but Haru declined, knowing that this meant more to Rin that it did to him. He wasn’t like Rin; what his parents had to say about his upcoming nuptials didn’t matter to him, and so their approval wasn’t necessary. Haru hoped that they would come to the wedding, and that they would accept Rin as their son-in-law, but that was all Haru wanted.

Rin wanted the support of his family, wanted them there at his side at his wedding, and for the rest of his life. He’d always put more weight on these things, which Haru felt that he could never understand, but that was fine. He wanted to do whatever it was that made Rin happy, which meant accepting his proposal, and taking Rin’s family as his own, even though he had already felt that way for years. 

Kou and Rin’s mother had known about their relationship for years--since almost the very beginning. Telling them was somehow easier than telling Makoto, if only because their joy was as instantaneous as it was expected. 

“You’re finally going to make an honest man out of my son, eh?” Rin’s mother asked Haru after she hugs him, and then Rin fiercely. Matsuoka-san’s hugs always had a tight grip and somehow it’s even tighter now that she knows that Haru won’t try to escape.

“Mom!” Rin groaned, but Haru only turns his head to hide his smile. 

“Can I call you onii-chan now?” Kou asked, to which Rin responds with an sharp, “No.” 

Rin’s mother jumped up to make them lunch, insisting they stay and talk about the engagement--which had been romantic with cherry blossoms, just like Rin had wanted--and whatever tentative wedding plans they had set up. They stay as long as they can before Rin stood up from the table. 

“I’m gonna go tell dad now,” he told his mother, who pressed her hand to her mouth and nodded. 

“He would have been happy too,” she said. “Anything that makes you as happy as Haru does he would have approved of.” 

 

Rin was silent as he thought about his mother’s words all the way to the Mastuoka family grave. Haru just walked with him in silence, knowing that as much as the announcement was _theirs_ , Rin telling his father was his own. 

When they got to the grave Haru tried to stand aside, tried to let Rin do this alone like he thought he would have wanted, but Rin grabbed his hand and tugged him along. 

“Dad, you know Haru.” Rin grinned wryly. “I’ve talked to you about him a lot, but I wanted you to know that we’re getting married. He’s going to become a Matsuoka, and I wanted to tell you that myself.” 

“I’ll try my best to keep Rin happy and winning medals. Even though he can do that on his own,” Haru said, because he felt like he needed to say _something_. When Rin smiled, Haru knew it was the right thing to say. 

 

Rin’s grandmother was the last member of the family that Rin was going to tell in person. She was saved for last, Rin said, because of the distance from Haru’s grandmother’s house, but Rin knows it’s because he’s the most nervous about telling her. 

He was jittery on the train ride, bouncing his leg up and down and wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to seem unaffected. 

“Are you okay?” Haru found himself asking, hoping that Rin would become distracted enough to stop being annoying. 

“I’m fine,” Rin snapped, but when they got to the station Rin practically ran all the way to his grandmother’s house. 

Rin’s grandmother didn’t look a bit like him, Haru noticed when she opened the door. He had never met her before, and couldn’t help but compare her to his own grandmother. He didn’t see any similarities. 

The three of them had only just sat down on the cushions when Rin was blurting out the reason that they had come. 

“Haru and I are getting married, grandma.” 

Silences stretched between the three of them once the words are out. Haru can _feel_ the nervousness that was coming off Rin in waves, a thousand times stronger than they had been on the train. 

Rin’s grandmother’s face was smooth, betraying nothing, but she raised her eyebrows before she spoke. “Rin, could you go get tea from the kitchen please?” 

“But I-”

“The tea, Rin. We have a guest and I didn’t get the chance to make any earlier.” Her voice was curt, with no room for argument even though it was clear that Rin wanted to. He squeezed Haru’s hand before walking out of the room, giving them one more dubious look before finally leaving. 

Rin’s grandmother stared at Haru for a few more moments before she finally broke the silence. “I went to one of your swim meets once, when Rin was in Australia.” 

Haru couldn’t figure out how she wanted him to respond--what could he say to this?--so he said nothing. Rin’s grandmother didn’t seem to mind, continuing on without any prompting from him. “You swam beautifully, and you won. I was very impressed with your swimming then. And I suppose I still am, seeing as how you won more medals than my grandson at the Olympics.” 

“Thank you,” Haru told her, unsure of what this meant. He would talk about swimming if she wanted, but this was clearly more than that. 

But she continued on as if she hadn’t heard Haru speak. “I am even more impressed, though, with how you are with my grandson. I haven’t seen you together much, since my grandson never seems to come around very often,” she paused to give Haru a significant look, as though he could tell Rin to visit his grandmother more often. He vows to at least try, then, “but you were always special to him. You made him want to try harder and for that I thank you. That’s a good thing to have in a lover and now, a spouse. Please take care of Rin.” 

“I will,” Haru promised, because of course he will. The same way that Rin will take care of him, forever now that they are getting married. “I love him,” he added, because he didn’t tell anyone else that today. He didn’t have to. 

“I’m glad,” she said, eyes warm, and Haru can finally see the physical similarities between her and Rin. 

Rin chose that moment to come into the room, tea tray in his hand. “Here, it’s finally done,” Rin told her, placing the tray gently in front of his grandmother. He looked at Haru, questions in his eyes that Haru answered with a slight shake of his head. 

“Can you make it too? For our guest, of course. She winked at Haru when Rin began to grumble. 

“He’s family now, not a guest.” 

“Until you’re married he’s a guest,” she said. Her easy acceptance--no fuss, no ceremony--made Rin grin when he words finally sunk in. She didn’t have to welcome Haru into the family; she made it sound like it was inevitable instead. 

“Serve me well, Rin,” Haru deadpanned Rin after he poured his grandmother’s cup, which got him scowling again, though the smile struggled to keep its place on his face. Rin was unbelievably _happy_ , which made Haru’s chest light up too. 

“I’m not your maid,” Rin said, but leaned over to kiss Haru’s cheek anyway. 

 

Afterwards, when they were on the way home, Rin leaned his head on top of Haru’s. 

“What did my grandma tell you while I was making tea?” he asked, voice low. 

They took the train out of Iwatobi late enough that there were only two other passengers in the car, and that gave Haru the confidence to thread his fingers through Rin’s. He made sure that their hands were partially hidden before he answered Rin’s question. 

“She just told me to take care of you.” 

“And?” Rin asked, eyebrows raised. 

“I promised I would,” Haru told him. “Forever now.” 

“Forever,” Rin said back, his voice hitching a bit under the weight of that word. Then he squeezed Haru’s hand and drifted even closer.


End file.
